BIOGRAPHY

Principal Conductor, Württembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen

Versatility, musicality and technical precision, and above all a natural and passionate approach are trademark features of French conductor Ariane Matiakh. The daughter of two opera singers, she grew up in an exceptionally musical environment and learnt to play the piano at an early age. Later, she studied orchestral conducting in Vienna, where she also sang in the renowned Arnold Schoenberg Choir under conductors including Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Adam Fischer. Particularly formative experiences during her comprehensive training include the time she spent studying with Leopold Hager, Yuji Yuasa, and Seiji Ozawa.

The 2024/25 season sees Ariane embark on her third season as Principal Conductor of the Württembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen. She will open the season with Bartok Concerto for Orchestra and Dvořák Cello Concerto with Steven Isserlis and further symphonic highlights include works by Brahms, Berlioz, Strauss, Debussy and Ravel. The season also sees Ariane make her debut with Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and return to Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse, and Royal Opera House, among others.

Previous guest conductor engagements have included regular appearances with leading ensembles such as the Bamberger Symphoniker, the Bayerische Rundfunk, the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, the Wiener Symphoniker, Orchestre de Paris, the Rotterdam Philharmonic, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, The Gürzenisch Orchestra, the Dresden Philharmonic, the WDR, Frankfurt and Finnish Radio Orchestra, the NDR Hannover, the Sinfonieorchester Basel, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, the Orchestre Métropolitain Montreal, the Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse, l’Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, the Helsinki Philharmonic, The Helsinki Radio Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Wales.

Ariane’s first appointment as Assistant Conductor in an opera house was at the Opéra et Orchestre de Montpellier, where she worked closely together with James Conlon, Armin Jordan, Emmanuel Krivine and Alain Altinoglu, among others. In the 2024/25 season, Ariane makes her debut at Deutsche Oper Berlin (Carmen), La Monnaie conducting a new opera by Mikael Karlsson Fanny and Alexander and return to the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden (Carmen). Opera engagements in recent years have included Stuttgart, Hamburg Staatsoper, Norwegian Opera and Ballet (Carmen), the Royal Opera House (La Bohème), Komische Oper Berlin (Le Nozze di Figaro) Göteborg Opera (Madam Butterfly), Opéra de Nice (Zauberflöte), Oper Halle (Tosca) and Opéra du Rhin (Werther, Samson et Dalila, La voix humaine) among others.

Today, Ariane’s repertoire covers numerous operas to a wide spectrum of symphonic works and operas to contemporary compositions.

Ariane’s discography includes a Grammy nomination for her Capriccio recording of both piano concertos by Zara Levina with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra. For the Capriccio label, she has also recorded the works of Johanna Doderer as well as a CD with music by Francis Poulenc and Jean Françaix. As part of a further collaboration with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, she recorded works by Harald Genzmer, Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari and Richard Strauss. Berlin Classics released a recording with piano concertos by Clara Schumann and Ludwig van Beethoven, performed by Ragna Schirmer and the Staatskapelle Halle.

Her work dedicated on Charles Koechlin’s music with the Sinfonieorchester Basel and the Württembergische Philharmonie was praised by the press (Choc Classica, Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik …)

In recognition of her achievements in French musical life and representing French culture abroad, Ariane Matiakh was awarded “Officier de l’Ordre des Arts des Lettres” in 2022.